X's and O's - Talking West Virginia and SmartFootball

PHOTO BY TRAVIS LONG - THE NEWS & OBSERVER

It seems like at every level of play, high school and up to the pro level, scores in games are getting out of control.  To think that the national championship game next week will be about defense seems a bit strange in the current offensive environment where scores in the 40's and 30's are routine and getting to 70 or 67 points against what most would call reputable competition, see West Virginia over Clemson in the Orange Bowl and Baylor over Washington in the Alamo Bowl is a reality.  

On the local high school scene the Leesville Road Pride averaged 51.5 points a game this past season and had just two games where they scored less than 40, against Garner (21 points) in the Eastern 4AA semifinals and early in the year against Jordan where they managed a paltry 39 in a victory.  At the pro level, three teams, Green Bay, New Orleans and New England all averaged over 30 points per game during the 2011 regular season.  A quick look over the past nine seasons revealed that in 2004 two teams passed the 30 point threshold (Indianapolis and Kansas City), while in 2008, 2005 and 2002 no teams averaged more than 30 a game.  In every other season during that nine year period, only a single team eclipsed the 30 point per game threshold [New England (2010, 2007), New Orleans (2009), San Diego (2006), Kansas City (2003)].  A quick glance would indicate that points scored are up and the performance that West Virginia put forth against Clemson earlier this week is just one example.

My background is more on the offensive side of the ball and I love talking X's and O's - I love the chess match of it all.  If that sounds interesting then I would highly recommend checking out Chris Brown's site SmartFootball.com.  It is hands-down one of, if not the best, X's and O's sites out there and I've rarely left the site after reading one of his posts wondering why I took the time.  It's here that the discussion about a seeming point bonanza and SmartFootball.com  coalesce.  I would encourage you if you are interested in reading a ton of great material about what Coach Dana Holgorsen and his staff are doing offensively at West Virginia or understanding in more detail the roots of their system - to venture over there and check out the following story: SmartFootball article by Chris Brown on WVU offense.  I feel confident for all those X's and O's junkies out there, you won't be disappointed.  I'd go a step further, bookmark the site!

Photographs courtesy of newsobserver.com (The News & Observer)

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Durham/Area Athletes All Over N.F.L. Scouting Combine 2011

PHOTO BY DON CALLAHAN

To think back to 2005 and 2006 and the incredible amount of talent on the football fields in Durham and the surrounding area is highlighted by this weekend's N.F.L. combine in Indianapolis where there will be quite possibly the largest contingent of local area talent on display for every recruiting board guru, N.F.L. coach and general manager.  For those interested in watching these young men compete, the N.F.L. has set up a live stream of the entire combine [http://www.nfl.com/combine].  I watched a portion of it last year and the stream was fairly high quality and I'm sure that this year it will be that much better.

Hillside will be represented by North Carolina wide receiver Greg Little.  Greg was in many ways a man amongst boys when he played in Durham.  He was someone that everyone knew about coming out of middle school and he fit into almost any position with ease.  One of the more dominant football players to suit up in Durham over the past fifteen years.

Riverside will be represented by two young men, Wake Forest wide receiver Marshall Williams and South Carolina tight end Weslye Saunders.  Marshall was another versatile and dynamic athlete playing both quarterback as well as wide receiver at times.  Some of the more outstanding catches over the past decade were made by Williams.  Saunders was quite simply a beast on the offensive side of the ball.  He played both defensive end and tight end in high school with the occasional short yardage shotgun quarterback routine as well.  He was a load to bring down and had enough in the way of agility and speed to run slot and tight end screens that could result in monster gains.  It always took two to three to bring him down and during their run to the championship in 2006 he played a huge role, especially during the playoffs.

Southern Durham and University of Florida offensive tackle Carl Johnson will also be showing off his skills at the combine.  Johnson was a load for defensive players to go against and when he was 100% tuned into the action it was almost without question that you would not be getting into the back field to touch Southern quarterback Kevin Atkins or getting a good piece of one of their running backs as Johnson cleared a path.

The Garner Trojans will be represented by one of the quickest skill position players to hit the North Carolina gridiron of late in South Carolina defensive back Chris Culliver.  I can recall prior to his senior year he was somewhat of an unknown on the recruiting circuit but went out and put up insane 40 times at combines and it wasn't long before everyone was very interested in Culliver.

A number of other North Carolina high school talent will be at the combine as well, so if you have some time, you should check the N.F.L. Scouting Combine site and see how North Carolina contingent does in comparison to some of the 'best' collegiate talent vying for the opportunity to play at the next level.